halolegendsfandomcom-20200214-history
Halo: Surviving a Nightmare
Chapter I The UNSC Marathon Cruiser, Titanic broke free of Zalcronia's orbit and headed towards the edge of the Prytor System. A large sum of Marines, and a small ODST Squad was ready for some well-deserved rest and relaxation, after fighting off both Loyalist forces, and the monstrous Zalcrans for nearly a month. ---- Staff Sergeant Jessica Melbourne placed her ODST helmet next to her on her cot, and began to remove her boots. Her armor was extremely filthy from the jungle combat she had to endure, since her first drop into Zalcronia's atmosphere. Around the ODST living quarters, the rest of her squad were either playing cards, smoking cigars, or even sleeping. Melbourne smiled. It was the first real break since the Arcadia assault a few months back, and no one deserved it more then her squad. Melbourne was an attractive woman, but still had that strong, military look. She had medium length, dirty-blond Hair, that was constantly pulled back into a pony tail. She was the team Captain and Long Range specialist. Across from her was Private William O'Brien, the team's Point man. He had dark brown hair, nearly black, and always wore a small smirk on his face. He wielded the MA5B Assault Rifle like an art form, and was deadly accurate with his SM7 Suppressed Sub-Machine Gun. On the cot next to his sat Private Robert Diez, aka Joker. He was the team's Heavy Weapons specialist, as well as the "comic relief" of the bunch. His sleek black hair was always combed back, and when he smiled it was as if his mouth stretched from ear to ear. Diez was playing poker with Privates Alice Mossman and James Pierce. Alice was a whiz when it came to driving vehicles, and repairing weapons, and used her Battle Rifle with deadly efficiency. Her black hair was cut short, and she had a cybernetic right arm. James was considered the Rookie of the team, and was the most dangerous when it came to close-quarter combat. He had a shaved head, and a tattoo of his initials on the back of his neck. Melbourne smiled as James placed Diez in a headlock, accusing him of cheating at the poker game. It was going to be a long trip. ---- Dustin "Dusty" Whittaker jumped back from the large cargo crate, at the enjoyment of his fellow Marines. Within the crate, a Lambrois struggled to break free of it's prison, "Calm down, Dusty. It isn't like it's a Zalcran right?" A Marine laughed, "Yeah, well I kinda distrust any lizards that are larger then I am..." Dustin replied. The other Marines laughed and agreed with him. Dustin didn't mean to joke, he had witnessed a single Zalcran wipe out his whole team back on Zalcronia, and he hoped he will never have to see another of the Raptor-like aliens again. As they turned to leave the cargo bay, Dustin saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was, but saw nothing, "C'mon, Dusty, or are you too busy jumping at shadows?" Joked a Marine, "Hold your horses! I'm coming," Dustin responded, running after. The noise of the Cargo bay doors closing, masked the sound of an unnatural screech. Chapter II Captain Erica Peacock sat down in the commander's seat with a sigh. It seams that they had just gotten to the Prytor Colony, and she hadn't even had time to set foot on Zalcronia's surface, as she had planned. As soon as the Titanic exited slip-space above the planet, she was ordered to drop any Marine forces she could spare and head towards the edge of the system. If the Titanic had the payload of other, normal, Marathon cruisers she would have tried to assist the in-orbit engagement. However, the UNSC Titanic was refit for a larger amount of cargo space. Many of the cruiser's weapon systems were removed in order to achieve this, excluding the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon and point defence turrets. The Titanic, however, was one of the first UNSC ships to be outfitted with a shield generator, courtesy of the Covenant Separatists. The Titanic is one of three Marathon cruisers that had been "upgraded" in this way. The others, the UNSC Olympic and the UNSC Britannic, also serve in the Zalcronia Supply Route. The Titanic was currently en-route to Sangheilios, the home planet of the Sangheili race, aka the Elites, and, the estimated trip would take over a month's time. By then, the Britannic would arrive at Zalcronia, deliver and receive it's own supplies, and make ready for a two month trip back to Earth, "Captain, we've reached the edge of the Prytor System, and are prepared for slip-space jump. Awaiting orders," The ship's AI, Eternal Spring, reported as it flashed into existence on the arm of the command seat. The AI had the appearance of a young, black-haired woman in a long, green dress made of leaves and vines, and had a pulsating aura of leaves swirling around her, "Let's just begin this voyage so that the crew and I may get some rest, Spring," Captain Peacock ordered, her normally hard, sharp, voice was dulled by her inability to keep her eyes open, "Affirmative Captain, entering slip-space... now," Spring replied. The ship lurched once, and the frontal view screen was filled with the abysmal darkness of slip-stream space. Erica ordered her bridge crew to report to the cryo bay for immediate rest, and activated the ship's intercom system, "Alright everyone, you know the drill. We have over a month before we enter the Urs System, so until then lets get some shuteye," ---- "Come on, you heard the captain, let's hit the hay people!" Yelled a Marine sergeant down in Cargo bay 12, "Jennings, that means you too!" "Sarge, I can't find Waller," Jennings replied, "Knowing that girl, she's probably already in bed with someone else, Jennings, better luck next time. Now get your sorry ass down to Cryo 2! Double time soldier!" The sergeant ordered. Over the marching of Marine boots, not one person heard the muffled cries for help as they slowly faded away. Category:Stories